Maharashtra State PSC Model Paper 3

The correct answer is 2 only.

• Biomagnification refers to the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one tropic level to the next.
  • Thus in biomagnification, there is an increase in the concentration of a pollutant from one link in a food chain to another.
• In order for biomagnification to occur, the pollutant must be long-lived, mobile, and soluble in fats.
  • If a pollutant is short-lived, it will be broken down before it can become dangerous.
• If it is not mobile, it will stay in one place and unlikely to be taken up by the organism.
  • Pollutants that dissolve in fats, however, may be retained for a long time.
• It is traditional to measure the number of pollutants in fatty tissues of organisms such as fish.
  • In mammals, we often test the milk produced by females, since the milk has a lot of fat in it are often more susceptible to damage from toxins( poisons).
• Hence the option 1 is correct.